HEADER BY YOSEF PHELAN
SPECIAL THANKS TO JASMINE ALOMA AT THE BBC

“I literally wanted to kick and scream and tear the whole set down,” jokes (?) Cara Melle. On 9 November, the fierce entertainer and fan-favourite was booted from RuPaul’s Drag Race UK after lip-syncing against her “best friend” Michael Marouli, where she sadly experienced a slipperoo by tumbling on the stage. While she still annihilated the performance and now joins Akashia and Kylie Sonique Love as the holy trinity of contestants who transformed their stumbles into iconic moments, Cara was told to sashay away.

“I fell. It’s just what happens sometimes. It’s the name of the game. You can’t determine what’s going to happen before you walk in, which is what I tried to do,” Cara tells GAY TIMES. “It’s the slipperiest stage on this planet, I have to say that. I’ve never been on a slippier stage in my life. My foot just swept under me and it was all in slow motion. It was very dramatic.”

Although we won’t see Cara usurp Danny Beard as the ‘UK’s Next Drag Superstar’, she made an unparalleled mark on this series with her Xena-esque warrior aesthetic, gripping lip-sync smackdowns and herstoric feats. As the only British contestant to land a solo win for the staple girl groups challenge and first Black trans queen to stomp through the werkroom doors, Cara has made herstory for the franchise.

Here, Cara chats about all of the above with GAY TIMES – in addition to the drama and conflama of Vicki Vivacious’ mirror message – and her upcoming role in Slay, a Buffy-meets-To Wong Foo “action, thriller, horror comedy”. (We are so perched for this.)

Cara, my goddess, how are you?

I’m great. How are you?

Gutted.

You know what? I should’ve started with that. Yeah, I’m gutted too baby. I am gutted, but I am so much happier. Life goes on. I’m good. That’s what I’m trying to tell myself!

What was it like watching last night’s episode unfold?

I’m going to be honest, it was a tough one for me. I knew I did a great job in this episode and had a really good time. I was finally feeling like I was comfortable with being on stage and in front of Ru, finally letting loose and just having fun with being stupid and silly in the challenges. But then it came crashing down, literally. I fell. It’s just what happens sometimes. It’s the name of the game. You can’t determine what’s going to happen before you walk in, which is what I tried to do. Watching it, I was sad. I nearly started crying when it was me and Michael [lip-syncing]. That bit really got me.